


The Trials We Face

by BurrSquee, Tikor



Series: Castebook:  Full Moon [3]
Category: Exalted
Genre: Gen, Lunars, POV First Person, Roleplaying Character, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-02-23 07:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13185126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurrSquee/pseuds/BurrSquee, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tikor/pseuds/Tikor
Summary: Herein are the trials of six Full Moons as they charge into their Caste.





	1. The Trials We Face: Full Moon

The Full Moons among Luna’s Chosen are often blessed amid blood and gore, sometimes others’, sometimes their own. There’s always some conflict, be it a duel, a raid, or a warzone. From these violent beginnings, most Full Moons lead violent lives, mastering their bodies to the purpose of dominance by physical means. In the First Age, they became storied gladiators, ruthless commandos, or leaders of the Wyld Hunts of old. In the Second, they are the most feared single combatants known, able to take what they please by force… so long as those holdings are far enough away from Realm tributaries.


	2. Strength of Many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strength of Many, herdsman and tribesman, meets the traveler.

**The Old Ways and the New Ways**  
It used to be that the peoples of the savannah knew how to live off the land. They could tell the good grasses from the bad, they could hunt the bushmeat, they could follow the spirit tears to watering holes not yet dry even in the summer months. They had their freedom, and they conquered Creation’s hardship, generation after generation.

But then a traveler from a far sea came, and dug a well. Around this well he built buildings of baked earth. To these buildings his friends would come and give him wonders to sell, waxed hides that did not crack in the sun, coverings for feet to keep them from pain in the savannah, and water that was hard, cold, and never melted. To the people he traded these things for what they had in abundance - their bush hides, their dried and salted meat, their spare weapons. In secret, always at night, he would trade much for an undesirable the tribes wanted gone. He did not say what he did with them, or where they went.

Once the traveler held a great feast where he slaughtered a steer, cooked and served the meat to the people who had come to trade, eating deeply himself. He said that the steers and cows and calves were easy to raise - they ate the grasses of the savannah that bore no fruit or seeds and could drink the muddy water too foul for the tribes. And better yet, they could be driven and controlled so that they could be slaughtered in the lean times when game was scarce or the fruit and seeds of the savannah were out of season.

Inevitably, some traded for these steers and cows, drove them off, and had a feast of their own when they returned to their tribe’s wandering place. Also inevitably, some bought two and bred them.

At first, the cattle were a boon to the tribes. They bridged the hard times when game was scarce or the fruit and seeds of the savannah were out of season, just as the traveler said. They bred easily, eating and drinking what the tribes could not, so they multiplied readily. But soon there were so many that they would drink the muddy pools dry and have need of the clear ones. In time they drank those dry, too. They would chew the grass short, and bellow for more, growing thin if they did not graze. So each tribe widened their wandering places. Eventually, they met each other.

Arguments raged and fights broke out. Never before had the tribes had a concept of their place in the savannah. They simply wandered in its great grasses, hunting what they could, hiding from the fire, eating the fruit of the land, and drinking a sliver of what water they found. Then, the savannah was a large place, the entire world, and no one would know it all in a lifetime. Now, the savannah felt small, as the cattle’s needs showed how easily the grasses could be spent. Many died in squabbles over grazing rights, many cattle were stolen and slaughtered, and many prisoners were traded to the traveler at his well and stone buildings for the means to keep fighting. The tribes bought back their own dried meat at twice the price, they traded new cows for thrice what they paid for their parents, they even paid for water when another tribe had claimed the watering holes. Worse, the more captives they sold the less they earned for each night-bargain where an enemy went away forever.

I was born in this time of conflict. Since I was as tall as a short spear I have been trained to use it to defend my tribe, our cattle, and our grasses. It was there, in the tribe’s grazing lands, where I was taken and sold. Where I was taken again and uplifted.

 **Capture**  
Every tribe believes they can defend their lands until it is proven to them that they cannot. I was one such ignorant, herding my family’s cattle with the swagger of youth. I soaked up the praise my fat cattle drew in the wandering places of the Vocoxai, making me think the risk was worth it. I dared to take my cattle out to the maximum of their range and back again in a day, far from help if I were attacked.

And that is what happened. While out away from the tribe’s wandering place, far out of the range of my voice to the true warriors of the tribe, several members of a neighboring tribe, the Suxsa, I could tell by their markings, snuck through the grass and ambushed me. I never even had the chance to use my spear. I was stabbed in the leg, only once and not too deeply, away from the vast flows of blood. Looking back, it was expertly done. Then, I was beaten severely, such that I could not stand, unable to fight back the whole time for any weight I put on my leg was agony and I had lost my spear in the initial grapple.

My whole herd was driven away. But I did not follow them. Instead, I was taken to the traveler where he lived near his well, under the shade of his baked earth buildings. There, I was washed, allowed to relieve myself, chained to the wall and told to sleep. I could not sleep. I can still remember the baked earth walls, how they smelled. Dust and fire and a sheen of fear. So different from the savannah. Close, dirty, used.

The next day the traveler came to me. He fed me some water, bread, and beef, and watched me avoid my broken tooth as I chewed, waiting for me to finish. I looked to him a few times, but my attention was on the meal, and we both knew it. Once I had drank the last drop of water, he addressed me in my own tongue, Flametongue, but with an accent I had never heard before. He said to me, “I know this is hard to accept. You probably don’t think it is fair. One moment you’re driving your herd, the next you’re beaten around and end up here. You probably want to go back to your family, even if they might beat you again for losing all those cattle. Well, I’m here to tell you that life is about to get a lot different for you. For one, you’ll never see your family again, so give up on that little dream.”

I thought about my mother and father, about my sister and brother. I saw in my mind’s eye my cousins, aunts, uncles and distant relatives that made up my tribe, of which all my memories were shared. I did not want to believe this man. But he was still talking.

“...sold. So, tomorrow you’ll be travelling far from here. My best advice is to think about what you can get away with, and do that and maybe a little less. Masters don’t like it when you break their rules. You best learn ‘em quick. And do whatever work y’re told. Now, would you let me take a look at that tooth?”

I nodded to the man. My tooth was an agony, and I was not about to turn away his kindness. After he put his fingers in my mouth he frowned and shook his head, then went away and came back again with a little hammer. I eyed it warily. “I know, son. Always sad to lose a tooth. But trust me, it’ll be better this way.”

He knocked on my tooth with his hammer, and my mouth exploded with pain. But it was over shortly. I felt like this was not the man’s first time using the hammer in this way. The bandages he put on my other wounds I barely felt; that pain was crowded out by the void in my mouth where once was a tooth but now was only agony.

 **Exaltation**  
True to his word, a group of men on horses came from the south the next day. The traveler fed me again, then brought me before them. They haggled over me, spoke about me as if I was not there. I was poked an prodded and spun around. It was humiliating. I objected, and was hit hard across the face, down to my knees where my chained hands clattered clumsily in the dirt. The traveler spoke to me as I crouched there, “Remember what I said, boy. Learn the rules. Don’t speak unless spoken to, or that’ll happen again.”

They finally agreed to some middle number. My outburst was referenced every other sentence in the final bargaining. Coins, a cow, some milk, rights to refill their waterskins at the well, and finally me all changed hands. I was led to a wagon.

Within the wagon were several southerners like myself. All chained like myself. Several showed signs of being recently beaten. They had their heads down. When I paused at the entrance I was shoved in, to fall at their feet. None of them helped me up.

Inside, it was suffocating with hopelessness. It oppressed the small wagon, sapping my already flagging strength. I pushed myself to my knees, then found my seat, and began to ponder what to do. Should I resist and get myself killed? What would that prove? Should I go along and do as I am told? But, when would that end? With my death again, most likely, just a few years down the road.

In this moment of introspection, a girl no taller than my waist, shockingly dirty, yet below that grime was striking silver hair, got up from the bench across from me and laid her manacled hands on my knees. She said to me, “Mister. You look very strong. Can you please break these chains?” She held her hands up to me, with her best attempt at a smile showing missing teeth, some from growth, some from trauma.

I sat there for a moment, staring at that girl’s face and felt the rage build within me. No one deserved this, this bondage. Not that little, beaten, dirty girl. Not me who had only ever been a loyal member of my tribe. Not my worst enemy. A clean death was better. Banishment better yet. To allow a man to be chained, to be forced to work is to give every man cause to bind and sell his brother. Yes, I would break those chains, I thought to myself. And by what I now know was Luna’s grace, once I resolved to do this thing, I felt my stab-wound close, I felt my bruises heal, even my missing tooth regrew within my mouth.

To the girl, to my fellow slaves, I said nothing. I merely grabbed the girl’s wrists as tenderly as I was able in that moment, and twisted the iron rings that had left raw marks on the child’s wrists. I twisted, and they broke. The child’s smile grew wider, more genuine. Suddenly, the inside of the wagon was awash in moonlight. I did not stay still; I broke my own chains, then left the wagon to slay my brief owners.

It was over soon. In the grip of the second breath, the traveler and his visitors stood no chance against me even at ten to one.


	3. Thorn Sun and Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thorn Sun and Moon, thinking himself an alpha, learns his place in the pack.

**Lilith’s Demand**  
So I was running from Krellen Ford, leavin’ all that behind me. I knew it was best for me if I never spoke t’ the Bloody Brothers again. The Immaculates in the Realm’s legions would be talking t’ ‘em about me, probably hiding around that bridge t’ see if I’d be dumb enough to crawl on back there and go t’ sleep. An’ t’ be honest, probably better for them if I didn’t talk to ‘em either. I heard some crazy stories back in camp about what people would do when an Anathema talked them int’a things. They’d suspect that I’d messed with their heads, makin’ ‘em simple. Yup, best for ever’one that I just cut clean.

So I headed South, back int’a Roka-Jin. Rading is what I knew, so raiding is what I did. Being able t’ change into my beast form sure helped, and so did the speed I’d get if I thought about it just right and made the moonlight show back up. After a while working solo, I picked up a few hanger-ons who heard about how good of a living I was havin’. Word must have got out good, cause they just kept comin’ in. Gots t’ say, I disappointed most of ‘em. See, it’s not drinkin’ and carousin’ every night, just when you’ve done your work for it. Lot o’ hungry days between good hauls. But we got through the bad times, always making it t’ the good. We called ourselves the Second Bloody Brothers, in honor o’ Old Sawtooth.

That’s about the time I ran int’a Lilith. She’d hunted me down, droppin’ out of the sky as some bird, changing into a woman right when she lands. I was with my boys and we all turned on her, weapons drawn. She spoke right at me, like my boys weren’t there. I learned later that’s just _exactly_ what she felt about ‘em. She speaks like she owns the whole plains, see, she says to me, “I’m busy, but you’re unblooded. Come with me for a tattoo and I’ll let you get back to your life soon after.”

I had just gotten used t’ giving the orders, and wasn’t ready t’ let some bird-lady boss me around. Boy, I was dumb. I said to Lilith, to _Lilith_! I says, “Make me.”

I didn’t even see what happened. But I woke up somewhere else.

 **Into the Full Moon**  
Next thing I know, Lilith, this old dog Tikor, and this younger fella named Bear Fist start askin’ me questions and tellin’ me stories. They bring me food, and just gab away. When I ask them what its all about, they tell me that they want to get the tattoos right. I figure I’ve damn well been made to get marked, so I don’t put up any more fuss about it. Instead, I ask ‘em what these tattoos are for. 

They gave all kinds of answers. T’ be closer t’ Luna, t’ fix what was broken way back in the First Age, t’ protect me from all sorts of nastyness like the Fae. But the one that stuck in my head was the part about the ‘Chimera’. They said if I _didn’t _get ‘em tattoos, I’d slowly start turning int’a a monster, losing my mind, and eating everything in sight. Didn’t sound like where I wanted t’ be headed, so I stuck around. And, after a while, I did start to enjoy their company.__

_They gave me some busywork while was there. I had t’ move a tree from one side of the river t’ the other - so I just cut that sucker down, chopped it up, and swam it over. Took me a couple of days, but ‘weren’t no real burden. Next I had t’ arrange entertainment for our campfire. So I went over t’ a little village near where we was staying and asked who the best singer was. Some lad, I forget now. I walked int’a his house and pulled a few silver from his stash, ‘ey always keep it in the same few places, ‘en walked up to him and asked if he’d be kind enough to do some singin’ out in the woods, flashing that silver in his face. He didn’t know me, and apparently didn’t get offers like this often. He refused. I made him an offer he couldn’t walk away from so easy, and we had a singer that night. Little warbly for my tastes, but they didn’t ask me to do any of that again. I kept the silver. Finally, I had t’ square off with Bear Fist. I didn’t try an’ get out of it, though he looked mighty strong. You don’t get a name like Bear Fist without crackin’ a few heads. I lost, just like I thought I would, but not before provin’ my worth in a fight. That seemed to settle it for the three of ‘em._

_Once Tikor marked me with that moonsilver, a Full Moon shone back at ‘em._

_**Rose Moon and Sun**  
True to Lilith’s word, she took me back to about where I was when she jumped me. My boys were happy to see me. They get a little lost when someone isn’t telling them what t’ do. I showed ‘em my new marks an’ ‘ey were pretty impressed. Lilith, she just flew off going Northeast, saying somethin’ about ‘Jorst’ and ‘Calita’ like she just walks up to the mightiest gods in the East and demands to talk to them every other day. Maybe she does. _

_Anyhow, I started having dreams like they’d told me I might. Only, instead of some other-me from long ago, I dreamt about a woman just this side of girlhood making her way in a life that looked alot like today. So much like today, I started t’ recognize the scenery. So I packed up the Second Bloody Brothers and went to take a look._

_A’course, showing up at some ranchers’ barns with over a hundred women and men haulin’ swords, axes, and a few spots of mail don’t look too friendly. We didn’t have no permanent place, so we went everywhere armed and ready. Since we weren’t yellin’ no war cries, they came out to have words._

_I said to ‘em, I don’t want your things, I just want to see this woman, and I described Rose to them. They got more’n a little defensive about it, like I was going to haul her off and bloody her up for sport. Things got heated, as you’d expect. While we weren’t seeing eye to eye on the topic o’ me seeing Rose, Rose just walks a’right out into the shouting match. She says to these ranchers, who I now know are her pop and his brother and her mother’s sister’s second husband, “Stop.” She said it real quiet, but we could all hear it over our own shouting. She was glowing like a bonfire, bright as the sun in the sky. And she walked right up and hugged me. She smelled like sun-warm river-stones, like clear water, like the wind after a rainstorm. I held on tight, shut my eyes real good, but I could still see the light bleedin’ on in through my eyelids._

_I knew she was the one I’d dreamed of. And I knew I was here to stay._


	4. Bulb of the Perfected Lotus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bulb of the Perfected Lotus, gathering Falling Lotuses.

**Trials**  
My trials were long ago. I fought and puzzled and sang, poorly, I will admit, to my Lunar elders Rain Deathflyer and Silver Python. When they were finished asking odd things of me, they marked my skin with the moonsilver tattoos and set me free. I learned sometime later that they broke with tradition doing so. None of the other Castes were present for my trials or tattooing. That my Caste did not match the elders who marked me I believe is the only reason more trouble did not come of it.

 **Territory**  
At first I wanted to use my new power to wipe out the tribe who took the trees of the Tchu-Tcha, forcing us East to the Fair Folk who slew us, taking their territory for my own. Then I thought to finish the Fair Folk court like the one I had slain during my Exaltation, living between the Wyld and the other tribes to protect them. Then I recalled that if I did either of these things, I would be doing so as a Tchu-Tcha. To follow Luna’s advice, I took another path.

I traveled away from all the tribes I knew, into the unknown, deeper into Creation. North and West I went. And there I found tribes like and unlike the ones I left. 

**Tribe**  
At first, I was a tribe of one. I walked among the Kekee tribe for a time, but felt no kinship with them. Their loud and boisterous ways were untempered by strong elders. I ate the heart’s blood of an emerald monkey, and swung the trees with them. But they were so simple I grew bored with their constant search for mangoes and their strange fears of spiders and the ground. I soon made my own house in a tree, resolved to walk the forest alone.

Among the jungle tribes, one strong enough to live alone gains a reputation. Mortals fall sick or old or simply unlucky in the hunt, and soon die without each other’s aid. I spent a mortal generation alone in the jungle, and I heard nearby tribes speak of me with reverence, telling stories, all entirely untrue, about how I managed to best the jungle year after year by bargaining with spirits or selling young children to demons. 

Those stories, though fearsome, lead discarded tribeswomen and tribesmen my way. Banishment is a terrible punishment, but sometimes the elders of the tribe find it the only just resolution to conflicts that could tear the tribe apart. I took them in, sharing my kills and gathered foodstuffs, never asking about their past, trusting them until they gave me reason not to. Some earned my distrust and became twice banished. Most stayed within my good graces. I told them the true stories of my survival, of Luna, of her touch, of her blessings granting me strength.

After a mortal generation of that, I had collected near one hundred under my tribe. They birthed and raised children who had never known exile. I taught them what I knew. The forest, upstanding behavior for a tribeswoman, and the rudiments of Falling Blossom Style. Other tribes began to call use the Falling Lotuses out of confusing our style of movements and me, their leader. It was as good a name as any, so I adopted it. But all was not peaceful. As we grew, our hunting parties skirmished with other tribes whose territory we neighbored. This brought the wrath of the Kekee.

They thought they could take us by night, creeping into our settlement, but my ears were too sharp. I raised the alarm, and we cut each other in the dark. Most thrown knives went wide, most swings missed, but the ones that landed were enough. We fought them to a retreat. Those marked fell to the jungle sickness days later, Falling Lotuses and the Kekee who could not retreat alike.

I lost my first lover in the tribe in their raid. I was elsewhere in the fighting, being much faster than he. Our children, bless them, hid well enough to be overlooked. Retribution was swift. No one calls themselves Kekee now, and the other tribes dare not disturb us. 

**Ties**  
If only I could hold those I love about me at all times. If only I could be there always. Every new tie pulls my heart in another direction. Yet, I cannot seem to keep from forming them. I only hope that when the time comes, when they need my protection, I am nearby.


	5. Kajeha Lef

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kajeha Lef, famous among Lunars, makes her intentions plain, keeping her own company.

**The Casteless**  
I began to walk, unsure of how to proceed with my mission from my husband beyond finding the one called “The Silver Shadow”. I had been walking for some time, acclimating myself to the newness of my surroundings and listening to the busy sounds of the creatures that lived in these trees, when I became aware of something following me far in the distance. I had been attuned before to the wild things of the South, more so now after my marriage, and I could feel the eyes of the creature following me. I could not tell if they were the predatory eyes of some hungry creature, the likes of which I had felt in my days in the South, or if they were something more sinister.

I continued to walk, my pace staying exactly the same. A plan was beginning to form in my mind. When I came to a clearing, I turned on my feet and waited, lance poised to face my follower. From the shadow of the trees came a the figure of a man. I said nothing as he approached, but I was ready for any movement that could be considered a threat. As he came closer, his features came into view. They were that of someone that was human, or at least had been human. His face had spots of green scales that irradesed in the shafts of sunlight. His hair looked nearly human with his long, black hair pulled back from his face. It was the undercoat of ruddy brown that gave it the appearance of horse hair rather than human. His eyes, however, were far from human. In their place were a pair of brown eyes with vertical slits, like the eyes of a serpent.

“Greetings Kajeha Lef,” the creature said, his hands coming up as in supplication revealing black claws and the look of webbing on his hands.

I did not move, prefering to keep my stance. My husband had told me tales of the creatures of the Wyld he called “The Raksha”. I had heard stories in my own lands of people disappearing, never to be seen again. All stories said to beware their trickery.

“I’m sure you’re wondering how I know of you, oh bride of Luna,” he said, a smug smile stretching the skin of his face. “I have seen you and your marriage to our goddess while scrying in the the Wyld.”

This statement renewed my suspicions, and I crouched, ready to attack.

“Do not fear me, oh blessed one,” he said, taking a step back. “We are of the same pack, for I too have been graced by the blessing of Luna. I too have been given the Second Breath and become one of her Exalted.”

“Who are you?” I asked, keeping my stance.

“I am called Malik Fenn, and I am the prophet for the Cult of Razik, Luna’s most worthy face for veneration. Sit with me, and I will tell you.”

And so I reluctantly sat, and he told me his tale. He told me that he and his members of the Cult of Razik were keeping in the true nature of Luna. That they allowed their Castes and abilities to flow with his ever changing nature, changing as the moon itself changed faces. He said that this was the true way to worship my husband, to be Casteless. And shouldn’t I, as his spouse, worship him in the truest and most pure way? He told me to beware the tattooing from those Elders who feared this kind of worship. Moonsilver tattoos were against all that Luna stood for. Would Luna forsake his other faces to keep just one forever? He asked me to join his cult, and that if I wished, I could lead in my husband’s name. I could become the paragon that would turn the tides towards the Cult of Razik.

I said nothing as he said his piece. Much of this was beyond my understanding. I knew little of these Castes that Fenn talked about, and nothing of the tattooing. These were not stories that had been told to me. And I said as much. If my husband had not told me of this, then this was not the way it was to be.

“I am here to find The Silver Shadow, and that is all,” I said, standing. I was ready to leave.

“If that is your wish, then I will help you achieve it. That is my gift to you,” he said, rising and walking closer. I did not raise my lance again. I trusted him to be the Lunar he said he was, even if I didn’t trust his cause.

I followed him as we walked deeper into the forest. We crossed over rivers and plains, but still managed to find more trees. It was many days of walking when he came to a sudden stop and faced me.

“Here is where my gift must end,” he said, bowing his head in my direction. “Another gift is soon approaching, oh wife of the Many-Faced Goddess.”

I watched him as he left, going back the direction he came. I had little time to ponder his words before a great commotion could be heard coming from ahead of me. I walked towards it, prepared for more danger. I broke into a clearing, and all around me was a crowd of many different faces. There was but a beat of silence before a sudden shout came forth from the gathered crowd.

“The Bride of Luna!”

 **The Wardens of Gaia**  
I was greeted like a dear friend, even though I was surrounded by strangers. I was lead within the throng of others, and brought under a bright tent, where tables had been set. I was lead past a table that was laden with foods of all kinds, more varieties than I had ever seen within Creation. I was lead past people who had been celebrating, but were now cheering for me, their eyes following me as I past. I was set before the crowd, and other Lunars began approaching me. They all introduced themselves to me, and in their hands were the bounties of Creation. Pure moonsilver, celestial wine, sweetmeats of boar and ram and moose, all of them were presented to me as gifts. I soon discovered that this was a Gathering done in my honor, to celebrate my union to my husband; to celebrate Luna choosing a wife. Many Lunars had come to mark such a momentous occasion, and many had come to take a glimpse at me.

After the gift giving, I was approached by a fellow Lunar who was more beast than man. He was covered in thick fur, sporting a muzzle and a jaw full of sharp teeth, with long horns on his head and cloven hooves at the end of his hircine legs. He introduced himself as Ma-Ha-Suchi. His voice rang like bells as he told me how proud he was that Luna had blessed a champion to remake Creation in her image. Of how glorious the downfall of the Realm and the Guild and the Confederacy of Rivers would be. Of how all this would be possible now that I was to join them.

I watched him for the briefest of moments, attempting to read his intentions. I told him that all here may drink and be merry, to celebrate our union. However, I told him, that although I was the focus of their celebration, it did not make me one of their own. I told him that I would not fight the civilizations of Creation simply because they were static, or that they sought dominion over Gaia. I had a true connection to my god and husband, and it would be his will that I listened to, not anyone else’s interpretation. All at once, the Gathering fell silent. There was an air of expectation, as though they were waiting for some act of violence to occur. Though I was just chosen, and he a hoary elder, I started into Ma-Ha-Suchi’s eyes with my own that Luna had blessed. I did not know what he was capable of, nor he I. In the end, he looked away first, and merely slinked off. 

The celebrations continued after that, but they were subdued, less robust in mirth. I was not addressed anymore. The other Lunars seemed to peer at me from the corner of their eyes, seemingly wary of me. It was not long before I felt a presence at my elbow. There was a cloaked figure by my side. The only thing I could make of her was the small, white snout peeking out of her cowl. Before we could begin much conversation, a performer stepped onto a makeshift stage. The singer, Rain Deathflyer, sang a sad song of the fall of the First Age, and the dancing around the fire stopped. The Silver Shadow and I did not care; she introduced herself, then we claimed our drinks and spoke long into the night. She spoke to me of small things, things I had not been made aware of before I had left my husbands side. She taught me of the Castes, of Lunar traditions, and of the tattooing. It was told to me in a far different light than that of Malik Fenn, who had spoken of it with disdain. The Silver Shadow talked about it as freeing Lunars from the fear of the monster within. It was allowing us to each worship the face of Luna with the talents that we had been blessed with. To venerate Luna with the gifts bestowed on us by her touch. She offered to use my gift of moonsilver to mark my Caste. I accepted. By morning, I was covered in moonsilver, tattooed in the light of the Full Moon.

 **The Winding Path**  
For some time, I saw no more of my sisters and brothers by Luna’s grace. I traveled throughout Creation and beyond, fulfilling the dream requests sent to me by my husband. As I was guiding the mortal society of Zoatham, mostly as their champion against the predations of the Encampment of the Copper Rose, a man approached me. He was tall, with copper skin and black hair, wearing Southern garb. His name was Tamuz, he said, and that he would be honored if I listened to his tales. He said he could tell me tales of before, of Solar misrule and their necessary downfall. He could tell me the tales of the first Kha-Kahn, of his most successful attempt at leading the civilizations of Creation. He said he could tell me of others Lunars and their attempts to lead the tribes of men, both their many successes and their many failures. He also offered to me chance to lead the Zoatham. He offered me the keys to their hearts, strings to their actions, and favors he had accumulated among the Zoatham that he alone could grant me. Things that would aid me in my rule from the shadows. All this he could grant me but only if I would swear to lead them in the way of the Winding Path. 

At that, I refused him. I told him that I would guide the Zoatham, or not, as my husband chose to guide me. I had no other wishes than to do the will of my god. Tamuz and his factions’ principles meant no more to me, or to Luna, than any other particular Lunar’s dearly held beliefs. I told him that the Silver God would use me to guide men where and when he saw fit. I told Tamuz that I had no need for his help.

Tamuz did not argue or try to sway my opinion. He merely nodded, his disappointment written clearly on his face. I still wonder where that disappointment was actually directed. If he was disappointed because I had refused him, or if he was disappointed in me, that Luna’s mate was somehow lacking, naive. I am glad that he never chose to explain himself to me. I’m not sure I would have liked his answer.

“I accept your decision,” Tamuz had said, and I had thought this would be the end of my audience with him. Instead of turning to leave, he brought forth a small package from his tunic. “Perhaps, though, my presence here is guided by Luna’s hand.” He held out the package to me, and I took it gently. Inside, I found a silver armband inlaid with clear crystals, the metal etched with intricate designs. “It is called Guided Strike, and it belonged to your previous incarnation. I happened to be with him, Sailfish of the Sky, when he was shot down over Bluehaven, and I’ve kept Guided Strike in hopes to return it to you, its rightful owner.” I had to admit that it was beautiful. As my fingers grazed the delicate craftsmanship, images began to race through my mind. I was in the midst of a great battle, with enemies surrounding me on all sides. My sword had been knocked from my hand by a well-aimed hit from a Dragon-Blooded officer, his armour old fashioned compared to what they wear today. I raised my arms, muscled and sun-tanned from my time in the Western Isles. As my opponent advanced with his weapon raised in attack, I rushed forward and dodged his readied weapon. With a mighty shout, I slammed my fist into his side, just under his armour. I could feel the raw power in my attack and I could feel the force spread as his body withered under such a strike.

I pulled back into myself, blinking. Tamuz had a face of understanding. Parting, the ancient Lunar added, “If you ever want to know your history, seek me out. Sailfish was a close friend.” Then he simply disappeared right as I stared at him like a cloud that blew itself apart.

 **The Swords of Luna**  
I was tending to Luna’s domain out West, hunting stories with teeth below the waves with bigger teeth still, when I met another of my kind, a brother by way of Luna. Light Sinks Deep did something to the freehold I’d just cleared. Below the waves, I saw the flash of light, and suddenly I could see no more Wyld taint. I swam to him to ask, but had no way to communicate more than ‘up’.

We swam to the surface together. Once I retook my human shape I asked him, “What was that you did?” 

He took an enigmatic smile, and replied, “A trade secret of the Swords of Luna, Kajeha Lef.”

I had never seen this man before. He tread water before me, beard soaked, clothing floating around him in the waves, and for as long as I stared at him, I could not place him. “Tell me who told you who I am.”

“The Marked Wolf knows of you. By now, through her, all Lunars know of Luna’s bride.” The smile had not left. My exact question remained unanswered. “She is the greatest storyteller of the Lunar tribe. I can lead you to her. I’m sure she wants to meet you.”

With my dream-task complete, I saw no reason to refuse him. We swam together to an island more ice than land. Light Sinks Deep treated me as an honored guest for the days it took for The Marked Wolf to meet us. I practiced my skills while he built shelter, gathered food, and brought the fire of our camp to life. The status and deference felt a little like being a Bride of Ahlat again. As I slept, I had no dreams from Luna to call me away.

The Marked Wolf disembarked from a ship, some great trading vessel sailed by many men. She wore her human form, but I could see her wolf’s whiskers. She bowed deeply, and spoke to me, “Bride of Luna, I thank you for your patience, and for your efforts in clearing the local Freehold of its Fae, allowing Light Sinks Deep to perform his duty.”

I motioned for the Marked Wolf to rise, which she did with grace. “And what duty is that? He would not tell me.”

The Marked Wolf raised a finger and tilted her chin, “It is not his secret to tell. It is mine. The spell he cast relocates a freehold to a place of the sorcerer’s choosing. Very useful in the hands of the Swords of Luna, very dangerous in others’.” She sat by the fire like every fireside camp was her home. I’ve since come to know how true that impression was. “Tell me, Kajeha Lef, what you think of the Fair Folk?”

I told her that they were enemies of Creation, that they had no place in the world of men, that their predations were to be thwarted, and any who traded with them killed. But, in honesty, Luna had never told me these things. I knew them from my time in the South before Luna took me.

The Marked Wolf nodded. She asked, “What is to be done about them? From what I have seen, beyond the Wyld that mixes itself with Creation, there is only more Wyld that does not. An infinite expanse of chaos, filled with a potentially infinite amount of Unshaped who could take shape at any time to vex us.”

My warrior training spoke, then. “Form a perimeter, and prevent their advance.”

The Marked Wolf clapped. She seemed giddy, and smiled widely. “Exactly, dear, exactly. That’s just what the Swords of Luna do. We’d be overjoyed if you could help.”

Light Sinks Deep stopped whatever task he was doing to pretend he was not eavesdropping. The Marked Wolf was also silent as she awaited my response. I admit I couldn’t see a flaw to her plan. But, how could I commit when a dream could call me away at any time? My first duty was to Luna, not to Creation. As much as I loved the lands and seas she was made of, I would see them twisted to nothing before I would allow any harm to my husband. Unlike Ahlat, a god tied to the South, Luna could survive even the end of the world.

“I cannot join your Swords of Luna. As Luna’s bride, as she who works his will in Creation, I must be free to see his will done. My dreams will always come before your objectives. It would be deceptive of me to keep that from you, to hold a spot on your perimeter only to abandon it.”

The Marked Wolf nodded. She seemed satisfied. “Well said, pup.” Then, she pulled a fish from the fire and bit into it. After swallowing, she asked me, “Do you have time for a story?”

I smiled at her. “For many, at least until I sleep again.”

I heard a great deal of the Oral History on that island. I stayed for weeks before another dream called me away. When I did finally part, the Marked Wolf gave me a whistle she said would blow in air or water, and that would be heard by every Sword of Luna. She said its gift was the security of a pack. Whenever Luna’s dreams sent me near or into the Wyld, local Swords could be called to grant me protection, to be my guide, or merely to share a story and companionship while the world swirled in uncertainty. I was grateful then, and am grateful now, for it has served me well. 

**The Seneschals of the Sun Kings**  
I was on another dream-task when I met the next society of Lunars. I was guiding the Solars Swan and Panther through the Wyld when we came upon a lone man in the mists, who was staring intently at the stars. Tikor was his name, and I knew from his shining castemark that he was my Lunar brethren. He was not dressed like that of a warrior or an adventurer, but as a scholar, which seemed unlikely in our location. But he hailed to us and offered us aid. As deep as we were into the Wyld, we couldn’t help but to accept. As we sat around the fire, enjoying the meal he had prepared, Tikor began to tell stories of the time when Solars ruled Creation. He told of the advances in technology, and the betterment of all mortals. He told us of the peace and justice that ruled during the First Age. He talked to us long into the night.

When my charges had decided to sleep, or at least feign sleep, Tikor began to tell me of his quest in life. He told me of how important it was to put the Solar Princes back into power. He told of the great advances that would occur when this happened. He praised me for my willingness to help Solars through troubled times, for Solars are less immune to the Wyld as compared to Lunars who have accepted tattoos, until they think to master it's corrosive Essence. He asked if I would join the great Sun King Seneschals, and help to restore the Solars to their rightful place in Creation. I had to refuse him. The only god I could give myself to was to my husband. If he told me to guide wayward Solars through the more complicated areas of Creation and beyond, then that is what I would do. Anything more than that was beyond me and my desires.

Tikor simply nodded and sighed. “A gift to you I still bring,” he said. “I have the name of your Solar mate, a bond which was created by Luna herself.” 

I waited, curious. Could a bond I have with any less divine than my husband and Incanra, even if they are Exalted, be greater than my bond to my god?

“His name is Sower in Dust, inherited soul of Ming Pei, inherited soul of Shining Moonlight, who was herself named your soul’s mate by Luna the same day that your distant foreshard, Radiant Night, was first Exalted. Or so the stars tell me. If you ever desire to know his location, you only need ask. But for now, sleep, dear wife of Luna.”

I thanked him for his gift and chanced the sleep he offered, for I knew we had a long way to go. When I awoke, there was nothing to indicate his presence but a few footprints in the dust, and the Solars gone with him. 

**The Crossroads Society**  
In the jungles of the East, I sensed a border to Creation in a place I had not known before. At first, I thought it was a new Wyld pocket, or perhaps a Shadowland. But when I approached, apemen came to escort me. They spoke with deference, “The Queen of Fangs told us you would come. She awaits you in her library.” 

I allowed them to escort me through their city. Along the way they explained that it was known as Mahalanka, the City of a Thousand Golden Delights. They explained that they and their tribe lived there with other beastmen tribes, all simian in nature. That their Queen also went by Raksi, but they urged me to use her title until she gave me permission to do otherwise. These apemen, from what I could tell, only wanted the best for the encounter between me, a strange new visitor, and their ruler. I’m sure they had their reasons.

They escorted me through the castle and to the library. Inside was a most beautiful and upsetting woman. She was beautiful in body and face and movement. But in her face were the fangs of a baboon. Her hands and feet were apeish and unsettling, with giant claws ready to slash out. Her movements spoke of an animalistic grace, both mesmerizing and deadly. I knew to be wary. “Greetings Bride of Luna,” she said in her purring voice.

I said nothing as I waited for her. Everything about her spoke of danger.

“I see you have come after I summoned a Celestial Gate. I knew you would appear after I set such an irresistible lure. How could you deny me?” she said, her hands moving gracefully as she spoke. “Now that I have your attention, it is time to come down to business. You must reject these pretenders that try to sway you towards their petty causes. They are worth nothing. It is the Crossroads Society that is the most in tune to the will of Luna. It is through sorcery that you can truly understand the grace of Luna. It is here that you must join me and seek the secrets of the night, revealed by sorcerous means.”

I had seen this before, and like all the other times, I refused her. For all that I had seen, there was not one way that followed Luna’s will in entirety. Like his many changing faces, the desires and wants of Luna changed with each passing of the moon. No one society, especially one so focused on a single topic, could encompass this, and I told her so.

I could see the rage boiling under her beautiful veneer. Mentally I began preparing myself for battle. But it seemed unnecessary as she began to visibly calm before me, her anger brought under control.

“Even if you aren’t ready to join me in my pursuits,” she said to me levely, “I can see that your trials are done. Now is the time for sacrifice to claim your place within the ranks of those who truly see. Do you, Kajeha Lef, forever forswear kinship with your fellow Lunars, to be forever outside their circles and packs, their societies and factions, bound only by the will of our god, Luna?” Immediately, I answered. “I do.”

This was all done quickly, more quickly than I understood. I was only aware of her asking me to join her again, now that I could see Essence for what it truly was, which I quickly refused. I felt as if I had made the wrong decision, for she gave me a smile that was filled with gleeful joy and threatening teeth. But instead of attacking, she simply said that I was free to go. I cannot remember that encounter without shuddering.

But after… many curiosities of Creation and beyond made intuitive sense. So plain were their natures that I could reach out and twist them into shape, bending their Essence with my will. Luna has called upon this power again and again. Each time, I grow more familiar with sorcery, and I have begun to see how deeply it is ingrained within all things. Even, perhaps, Luna.


	6. Magnificent Jaguar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnificent Jaguar, a pup in a time of giants, fights for honor's sake.

**The Honored Second**  
I was taken to Meru and introduced to my Solar mate, my adopted lord, Contentious Sword. He had me, at our first meeting, drop all formality and tell him every bloody detail of the battle of Engine #184. I tried to keep my retelling brief, but he kept asking for more detail, especially about Luna’s presence. By the end I felt I had told a tall tale; even though I spoke nothing but the truth I was not yet accustomed to such feats as filled the lives of the Celestial Exalted. Contentious Sword kept repeating, “Magnificent!”

Contentious Sword then informed me that his prior mate, Jaguar Fourclaws, had died in a laboratory accident a week prior. The smile he wore had a manic edge to it, a concealed pain that I did not yet have the ability to bypass to the truth. No more was spoken of Jaguar Fourclaws between us for quite some time.

My battered gunzosha armor, and the shed Aegis-Insert Amulets were framed and placed in my prior incarnation's foremost Manse. I took the moon-name Magnificent Jaguar, partly in Contentious Sword’s honor, partly due to my spirit shape, and partly in remembrance of my previous incarnation.

My mortal family was uplifted from a normal life to opulent wealth by his whim. In the centuries that followed, I favored the mortal line I came from with useful gifts and plum positions that were mine to staff. I even awakened the Essence of a few, and took them as students in the martial arts. I am proud to say that many volunteered as gunzosha in my honor, though none Exalted to my knowledge. Tending to my relatives’ prosperity was a fun distraction from the seriousness and gravity of Celestial life in the First Age. 

**What Came Before**  
I understand that matching a new Exalt with their previous incarnation has always been an inexact science. In the First Age, when I took my Second Breath, there were more consequences of this determination, and more lore to consult than today. Even the word of a Solar such as my mate Contentious Sword was not enough to satisfy Meru’s laws of inheritance.

Soon after being taken to Meru, I sat alone in a room with a Dragon-Blooded Confessor. They were sworn to secrecy, for they were the ones who heard the Celestial’s secrets, counseling them through their fears and helping them overcome their hesitations to reach their highest glory. Each Celestial had their own, though since it was not yet fully determined that I was the reincarnation of Jaguar Fourclaws, every currently unassigned Confessor took part in my ‘placement’, as they called it. It was a rare service, but one they were well suited to providing Celestial society. It so happened that there were three.

They were lead by the eldest among them, a lorekeeper of the Earth Caste. He spoke to me first. He commanded me in the tone of a kind elder to a child, “Tell me what you’ve seen, what you _remember_ , from another life or lives.”

So I told him of my Spirit Shape, and how I Exalted on Contentious Sword’s lands, and how we’d become fast friends. But this elder Dragon-Blooded, once he was done actively listening to my words, repeated the question. “We know of your other shape, where you Exalted, and your current friendship with the honorable Contentious Sword. What we do not know, what we need to find out to secure your placement, are the Celestial visions. Where you see from a body not your own. Where you say words in an old dialect you’ve never heard. Where others you’ve never seen but feel connected to surround you.”

So I sat and I thought. It was true that since my Second Breath I had dreams that matched the old man’s description, but I had dismissed them as just that. I had no waking visions since my Exaltation where I was surrounded by those friends in my dreams. So, I spoke of them as if they were visions.

I told them of my dreams of a war against the shadow of a dragon and the concept of language. I told them of watching the Wyld pop and burst into new, green lands. I told them of a stone pyramid, and myself directing Dragon-Blooded and mortals in its construction. I told them of a last stand, surrounded by the Raksha, just like the battle of Engine #184, only instead of the Raksha fleeing they were lead by a flying noble whose seven wings and gossamer scythe tore through all my chumyo’s forces…

When I was finished, the Fire Aspect, she looked much younger, but probably still a century older than I was then, whispered to the Earth Aspect. The Water Aspect did the same. The Earth Aspect nodded. He informed me, “You are indeed Jaguar Fourclaws’ reincarnation. This book contains an inventory of his assets, all of which are now yours.”

The Water Aspect hauled the tome to his shoulder, and handed it to me. I felt my muscles bulge as I accepted its weight. I turned to a random page, and it mentioned hard motes stored in cities across Creation. Hundreds of them, anywhere I might hope to travel. Pages and pages. When that ended, it began to estimate the mortals sworn to my service, and what had been payed to them out of my estate yearly since my forebearer’s death. It was too much to take in. This was shortly before the days of I AM’s easily commanded summaries. 

The lead confessor saw my confusion and laid a hand on my shoulder, offering me an understanding smile. “Celestials lead complicated lives. Come speak with us again, or rather, your personal Confessor, if you feel overwhelmed, or need a friendly ear. We will assign your Confessor in a few short days.”

 **Exhibition**  
My old mate ever so loved an exhibition match. While I had been made rich beyond my wildest dreams, he had arranged one for me. He said, “This will be the best way to introduce yourself to the luminaries of Meru. Something to talk about, not just empty get-to-know-you chit-chat.”

I was set to fight a Dragon-Blooded of the Wood Aspect who was near to my age, about 30. He, however, had Exalted at 14, and had been tutored by masters in the Martial Arts whereas the only combat I’d known was as a mortal gunzosha. The match took place in the Lotus School, Meru’s foremost martial arts dojo. Contentious Sword had a few choice words about the organizers, he much preferred the Proving Grounds, but apparently some sort of weapons test was scheduled for that day and could not be postponed on short notice, even at Contentious Sword’s say-so.

Contentious Sword asked me as we were walking to the Lotus School, “Are you ready for the match?” I told him that I would do my best, but I felt out of place fighting unarmored. He smiled even wider at that, and grabbed my arm, dragging me off our course. When his detour ended, after much laughing and dodging of questions, we arrived at the Warstrider Museum. Contentious Sword told me, “This ought to make you feel at home! Just wait here, I’ll go sign some papers and get the model my last reincarnation made his name with.” 

A half hour later, Contentious Sword stomped out in a warmachine bristling with weaponry. He popped the cabin window and shouted down to me, “ _Climhazzard, Royal Class Warstrider_ , at your service! All these weapons have been downgraded to blunt to be allowed in the museum. Should be great for your match!” I was dubious. For one, it shone a brilliant gold, clearly composed of Orichalcum. For two, I had never piloted one of these before - they seemed much more complicated than gunzosha armor. But, even at that early day I had a hard time refusing him. He climbed out, I climbed in, and I infused that magical metal with my aura.

We marched down to the Lotus School. Contentious Sword in perfect posture, beaming at the fun to come, me familiarizing myself with the controls to the _Climhazzard_. We were lucky the match was a skyless sand arena, I might have had trouble with any doors.

The masters at first demanded that I disembark for the match. They and Contentious Sword had some strong words about funding and Deliberative votes and about us not being students, about sparring regulations and about the relaxed rules of exhibition matches. My opponent, Poison Maple, merely stretched the entire time, keeping limber for our match. He wore nothing but a robe and bore no weapons. I felt like I was going to crush him with my first blow.

Finally, we were allowed to fight. I unlatched _Climhazzard’s_ warstrider-class daiklave, _Ultima_ , and took an experimental swing. He dodged, naturally, and landed a solid kick to my warstrider’s control cage window. I had meant to move out of the way, but the bulk of the machine was slowing down my reaction times. Still rocking from the kick, I parried his next blow, a punch aimed at my leg in time with my oscillation, probably meant to knock me over entirely. Then I kicked out my other leg, connecting and flinging him into a somersaulting landing. While he underwent some ritual motions I did not understand the utility of, I feinted with Ultima, and reached out with my other hand to grapple him, then lifted his feet from the floor. He struggled, but with his arms trapped and his feet with no leverage there was nothing more he could do but light up his Anima. _Climhazzard’s_ Orichalcum chassis was unaffected. So, locking the controls, I climbed out of my pilot’s cage, walked down the arm that had him pinned, and used my belt-knife to draw a shallow cut into his shoulder, keeping mostly out of the thorns swirling around him. The masters called the match, seeing first blood. 

Afterwards, I was well received by the masters of the Lotus school for my restraint. Something about marching a warstrider into their dojo set their expectations in a more full-throttle direction, like Contentious Sword had a reputation for. I eventually enrolled, once my life calmed down enough to allow it, and the skills I learned there still serve me well today.


	7. Leviathan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leviathan, an able Exalt in an able time, relates his trials' mixed results.

**Queen Amayana**  
My first trial, one I failed, was temptation. As the centuries passed Grand Admiral Arkadi gave in to his fighting spirit more and more often. As he battled either in person or via commands from afar, he grew distant from his non-martial duties to the Deliberative, to his children and lineage both by Amayana and by my former incarnation, and to Amayana herself. As acting grand admiral, my duties were not only to ensure the readiness of the fleet but also the political will to keep it provisioned; I cast Arkadi's votes in the Deliberative in his absence and kept on good terms with the rulers in the West. This brought me in contact with the grand admiral's wife, Queen Amayana of Luthe, in the same capacity that she came to know my Solar when she fell in love with him. At first I tried to keep things strictly about business. But we were too close of friends from our time together as a foursome for me to keep the decorum up for more than a year. Her children would often ask me to tell them tales of their father, and Amayana let me spin the tales of his latest engagements at sea, censored appropriately for the youngest among them, of course. Red Coral Manta saw the joy I brought to the place, distracting Amayana from the stresses of rulership with easy conversation as the three of us dined together. She went out of her way to make sure I visited Amayana more often than any other Western ruler, going so far as to cause a disturbance herself one time to get an emergency deployment. She _said_ it was just a mistake at her lab that released the virus she had been concocting, but with how quickly it turned around once I arrived, and how little the troops actually helped gave me the suspicion she was behind it. At meals, once the actual business of eating was done she'd order drinks, then decline to drink her own; she always fabricated some situation that required her _immediate_ attention, leaving Amayana and I alone to finish our liquor together. Once I tried to decline, and once Amayana pulled rank on me. She said, "We're not in intertributary waters, Leviathan." With a smile the whole time, "Luthe is my city, and I order you to drink. You don't want to be written up for refusing an order, do you?" I laughed the threat off, and acquiesced to my queen's command. Several pleasant years passed this way, with many dinners and drinks together overlooking the sea from Luthe's finest tower.

When her kids had grown and left, Arkadi still as engrossed in war as ever, and I in such a familiar position with Queen Amayana, things did not stay the same. We became lovers. I could not refuse her and she knew it. It was not the Solar bond that made me weak to her charms, it was Amayana herself. She was the sun in my sky, a radiant queen worthy of the title, beautiful beyond quantification, learned and wise, and concerned for her people. That she was interested in my warlike manner always mystified me. I always knew it would end in tears and blood. Arkadi would find out one day, and his wrath would be legendary. But that day always seemed so far away when we were together. We had a happy century of clandestine meetings, always explained away as official business, before tragedy took her life. 

**The Usurpation**  
My second trial, which I also failed, was sniffing out betrayal. I was so watchful with myself and my own betraying actions. I made sure no word got back to Arkadi about the nature of my liaisons with Amayana. It took a fair bit of spycraft, though it helped that everyone around Amayana was so loyal to her. But not everyone appreciated her egalitarian society, least of all the Dragon-Blooded who thought their Exaltations earned them the right to great privilege, like they saw in other tributaries and principalities of other, less kind Solars than Amayana. All the Dragon-Blooded I regularly interacted with were under my command. They saluted, they obeyed, they spoke when spoken to like any soldier in the presence of their acting admiral. Outside of reviewing their dossiers for promotion, they were invisible to me. I often met with other Solars in the Deliberative, their Lunar mates tending to their lands in the West, or their Sidereal viziers when either were indisposed. I was too high in command to schedule meetings with Dragon-Blooded majordomos. And of course, more and more of my time was spent in Luthe with Amayana.

My duties did not permit me to dine in Meru every Calibration, and that is the only reason I'm speaking here now. I was no elder Lunar then. A hundred Dragon-Blooded in ambush would have taken my life. As it happened I was at sea on the _Setting Sun Glorious_. I wasn't a primary target, the mere five Dragon-Blooded sent to kill me did not have a chance, though they did wound me. They kept me from answering either call for help, Arkadi's or Amayana's, by forcing me to destroy my own ship. 

The calls came in at the same time. As I hunched over the controls, repeating the messages for my own ears, not trusting the words that came out of my communication's officer's mouth, the traitor stabbed at me. Her knife never met my skin, but I was too shocked to properly strike her. I'd just heard that the Solars had been attacked, and then been attacked by a junior officer under my command. Neither of those things were meant to happen; they just didn't seem possible a few minutes before. The knife that landed in my back helped me come to terms with the situation. I threw the Dragon-Blooded traitor who stabbed me at the hull so hard he broke through. I dove out through the rushing water, transformed into the Spirit Shape I had enhanced over my four short centuries to be the equal in battle of any ship in the fleet short of the city-class mobile platforms like Luthe, destroyed the _Setting Sun Glorious_ and killed all those thrown overboard into the water. 

Though Arkadi’s position was closer, he was a warrior, I thought he could handle himself. I swam for Luthe where Amayana's message came, but my pace, even enhanced by my massive size and efficient flippers, was too slow. I couldn’t possibly get to them both in time. When I made it to the mobile platform's mooring station, nothing but sea, bubbles, and rough water greeted me. So I dove for the bubbles, which led me to Luthe as it sank. Bursting into the submerged throne room I found the results of a bitter fight. Amayana was dead, dozens of Dragon-Blooded also dead or wounded. I slew them all.

When I regained control of the room, I used the communications gear to hail Arkadi. No one answered, blank static buzzed along the line. I knew it was no malfunction, that he had been taken, too. In my fury, I slammed Islebreaker into the throne, swept through Luthe to kill any who showed a hint of Dragon’s blood, then made my own escape, swimming West beyond Creation’s rim.

I’ve never forgiven those _insubordinate Traitorspawn_.

 **The Wyld**  
My third trial, the only one where I claim success, was surviving. I’m here today, and sane enough to tell you my story. Weave it into the Oral History so that we never allow the Dragon-Blooded a place of respect again. They are our sworn enemies, worthy only to be slain by our hands. I'll hear nothing to the contrary.


End file.
